


why don't you and i

by livmoores



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Emergency Services, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Inspired by Music, Soft Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, brief mention of twin my unit, he is so in love it kills me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:14:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24941389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livmoores/pseuds/livmoores
Summary: It took Dimitri all of four minutes to fall in love with the mint haired officer that responded to a call on his first day.or, alternatively known as"hey this cop keeps showing up at my ems calls and i am stupidly into her? i am pretty sure i am in love. please help." - dimitri, circa 2020.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 13
Kudos: 105





	why don't you and i

**Author's Note:**

> me @ me: ash you should be writing smut. you have things to be doing. you have TWO OTHER STORIES TO FINISH.  
> me @ me, also: THIS SONG IS PERFECT FOR DIMITRI AND BYLETH AND A MODERN AU LETS GOOOOOOO
> 
> pls listen to "why don't you and i" by santana ft chad kroeger. that's all you need to know. (disclaimer i am not creative and used lyrics from that song in this. pls don't sue santana i am broke). i also take no credit for dimitri's booklet. that comes from the show 911. 
> 
> a huge shout out to wonderinghero for reading over this/providing feedback/dealing with my rants about writing and life in general. 
> 
> trigger warning for child abuse, car crashs and dimitri's general anxiety (me? letting dimitri's parents live???? how cute).

Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd was in love.

He couldn’t stop staring at the mint haired beauty in front of him. He knew his mouth was slightly agape and he was struggling to keep the medical bag at his hip, looking like a complete fool in front of the woman. Her mouth was moving and he was too focused on the shape of her lips, wondering how they would feel against his, to understand what she was saying.

It wasn’t until someone pushed into his left side and it caused him to stumble did he regain his senses.

“I said what’s your badge number? I need it for my report.”

Dimitri’s brows furrowed. His badge number? He wasn’t a police officer; he didn’t have a bad number. He titled his head to the side as he took off his gloves (which he foolishly just realized he was still wearing).

“Badge number?”

The woman sighed. Dimitri couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or amused. Her face was emotionless and it was unnerving. He shifted on his feet and readjusted the medical bag. Where was Mercedes when he needed her? This wasn’t a question he thought he would be asked.

“You don’t know your badge number? Sothis, is this your first day?”

A blush spread across his cheeks. Was it that obvious? This was his first day and his second call. The first one had been a routine heart attack patient, something he could do in his sleep. This was a car crash and required a lot more focus. He had gotten good grades in his paramedic training and had worked as a volunteer emergency medical technician before, but this was different. This was his _career_.

“First day, second call,” Dimitri muttered as he looked down at the ground.

Her expression softened. Although she had been a police officer for four years, she remembered her first day like it was yesterday. She put her notebook back into her chest pocket as she assessed the blonde in front of her.

“Who’s your senior partner? They’ll be running point on it if my report goes to court.”

Dimitri’s head snapped back up at her question. He couldn’t tell if she was annoyed with him but she appeared to be understanding. Beautiful and understanding? He was in so much trouble.

“Her name is Mercedes,” he replied as he scratched the back of his head. “I haven’t gotten a chance to know her last name yet. It’s all been a blur.”

The corners of her mouth twitched up. Was that a smile? Whatever it was it made his heart flutter.

“You’re in good hands then.” The woman (he really needed to get her name) leaned back against her patrol car and pulled her notebook back out. She looked around, assessed the scene, and scribbled something down.

Dimitri didn’t know what to say or do. The cop had beckoned him over and asked what he had done and when he had gotten a good look at her, he had gone weak in the knees. The radio static crackled and he could hear his captain summoning them back.

“They’re looking for you, probie.” Dimitri blinked again. He needed water and to clear his head. This woman was going to be the death of him. “Don’t worry. It gets easier and you won’t be so overwhelmed.” She moved forward and tapped her pen to the badge pinned against his chest. “By the way, your badge number is on the bottom of your badge. You’ll use it for official reports and when you deal with the real heroes.”

“A real hero? Please.” The response was instant, a culmination of him going back and forth with Felix on who was the real hero, whether it was the fire or police. Felix said it was the police. Dimitri said it was fire. When Felix tried to make a point, Dimitri had responded that there was no song called fuck the fire department. He was still proud of the short-lived win. Once he realized what he had said, a blush spread across his cheeks and he heard her chuckle.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, probie. Now go before they call a search party. I’ll be pissed if we have to waste resources on you.” She didn’t give him a chance to respond as she opened her door to her patrol car and shut it.

He _really_ needed to clear his head.

Dimitri responded to the call on the radio and turned around quickly. What the hell had just happened? He wasn’t as experienced as Sylvain was with women but he didn’t stumble like that. _No, you’re just overwhelmed by the adrenaline of your first day_ , he told himself as he walked back to the ambulance.

When he closed his eyes that night, she was the first thing that came to his mind.

* * *

“You need to _pull back._ ”

It was his second time running into the mint haired cop and she was grabbing him by his collar and pulling him away from the house. She was strong and Dimitri choked.

“Einser! Don’t manhandle my men!”

Einser? Everything clicked into place. This was Captain Eisner’s daughter, Byleth. Byleth, who was good friends with Mercedes and Annette. Byleth, who was the daughter of _his_ captain and the sole focus of his dreams for the past couple of days. He had only heard of her and had never seen a photo of her. It had been two weeks under Captain Einser and he had done his best to avoid being called into his office.

“Don’t let your men be idiots!” Byleth replied as she released her grasp on Dimitri’s jacket. She was staring her father down with such force that it was laughable. “This is my scene until it’s secured. I can’t have you go waltzing right in like a dumbass until we confirm that. Rule number one: BSI, scene safe, remember? It’s not safe.”

There was a scream from the house and Dimitri twitched. He could see Mercedes eyes full of worry as she darted her glances between Byleth and the house. How much longer was it going to take before they could go in and attend to their patients?

“Someone could be dying in there.”

“And you could _all_ die if we don’t secure the damn scene. He’s positioned himself to snipe every single person that walks down the driveway. I don’t know what’s planned in the back; that’s what SWAT is for. I hate to break it to you, old man, but you don’t know everything. Going in is reckless.”

Jeralt pinched the bridge of his nose. Dimitri shifted uncomfortably on his feet. Was it always going to be like this? Given how Mercedes, Annette and Sylvain looked unaffected, the answer was yes. Sylvain and Annette looked amused. Mercedes looked worried and couldn’t take her eyes off the house.

“God damn stubborn brat.”

“I get it from you, old man.”

The corner of Dimitri’s lips turned up. Despite the stress of the situation and the fact that he was practically bouncing on his feet, the conversation between the family made him feel at ease. It was easier to focus on their dynamic than the fact that someone was bleeding inside the house he couldn’t get to.

“Hey probie, come here.”

Dimitri obeyed and stepped closer to Byleth. They were at the front of the lines of safety for the barricade, the rest of his crew behind him. Byleth’s gaze was unmoving from the house and Dimitri found himself following suit. It was better to shift his focus on the task at hand and not the beauty in front of him.

“Sorry I manhandled you but I can’t have you go running in blindly.” Byleth didn’t need to apologize; Dimitri understood. He fiddled with the bottom of his gloves as she continued to speak. “My dad’s a good captain. You’ll learn a lot and do well but there’s a lot of things he doesn’t understand. This is one of them. His hero complex can really bite you in the ass and I don’t want to see another probie beaten down because of it.”

They were talking about Ignatz. He had been a medic before Dimitri and although he had been good, he had only joined because it’s what his parents wanted. One thing led to another and he wound up in the hospital for two weeks, physical therapy for a year, and quit somewhere during the middle. Ignatz was doing well with his art studio and was much happier but it had changed him.

“You have one hell of a grasp,” Dimitri responded. He wasn’t sure how to address her other comment. His focus shifted to the movement he could make out from behind the house. Her radio was buzzing with information and codes he didn’t understand. “Now I know why you call me probie. I couldn’t figure out why a cop would use firefighter lingo to save my life.”

Byleth snorted with laughter. “I’m the great big family disappointment who went into policing instead of firefighting and medicine. It’s a good thing I got my twin who went into medicine. Anyways, we grew up at the station and it’s hard to forget the language.” She turned her attention towards Dimitri. SWAT was almost ready to secure the scene and they could run free. “Plus you have _such_ a newbie look to you. It’s almost adorable.”

Dimitri’s face felt hot. He knew he was blushing again. He cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’ve been told my doe-eyed approach is rather endearing. It makes me more trusting, I guess.” _As if_. The reason he was in medicine was to help and atone for everything in his past. He was anything but trusting. The people he helped didn’t know. The book of names felt heavy in his pocket.

A loud bang, followed by a flash, and a couple of officers shouting commands rang through his ears. He flinched and Byleth remained unmoving. It didn’t alarm her; she was used to this kind of chaos. His chaos involved blood and guts, being up close and personal, trying to convince someone to stay with him and shoving an IV into their vein. Hers was assessing the sense and getting a sense of anything that would be dangerous from afar. She was their safety.

Sothis, Dimitri almost hated how safe he felt around her.

“All clear!” Jeralt’s voice rang out. He could see Byleth scowling from the corner of his eyes and he laughed. It was adorable the way her face scrunched up in annoyance.

“Go on, be a second-rate hero. I’ll be right behind you.”

Dimitri nodded as he waited to follow Mercedes lead. She gathered her supplies and moved towards the house, Dimitri following close behind his training partner. The scene was utter chaos with officers and the haze of smoke from the flash grenade and his heart was staring to race.

 _Take a deep breath, you got this_.

With Byleth behind him, watching his back, Dimitri felt like he could take on the world.

* * *

“Stop moving, Officer. I can’t do these stitches if you keep twitching.”

Dimitri’s patience was growing thin. After losing his first patient, he found himself ready to cry. He knew it was going to happen – it had happened when he was an EMT. Why did it hit differently? Was it because it was, technically, the first one of his career? Was it because he thought there was still more he could have done? Dimitri didn’t know. All he knew was that Byleth’s movements were annoying him.

“I don’t need fucking stitches,” Byleth retorted, her voice short. She needed at least three due to her head wound and knew it. The only reason she was letting Dimitri hold her down was because she knew he needed a distraction. It still didn’t change the fact that she didn’t need stitches.

Dimitri rolled his eyes as he pulled his gloved hand black and waved in front of Byleth’s face to prove a point. It was covered in blood and a small chunk of her hair. Her face was bleeding profusely and that was outside of the normal range of how much a face bled. He dabbed the iodine to her forehead and started to clean the wound.

“You’re lucky she didn’t hit your jugular and only got your head. Why did you bring your fists to a knife fight?” He loaded the needle up with anesthetic and prayed that she wouldn’t swat him out of the way when the needle pierced her skin.

“Less than lethal force unless neccc- son of a fucking cunt!” Dimitri laughed at her reaction to being poked with the needle. Byleth winced and leaned back, knowing the medication would take over in a minute and she would be numb. “Sothis, give a girl a little warning?”

“That’ll make great for review of your body camera footage,” he teased as he threaded the needle and poked at her skin again.

“I don’t give a fuck. I just got a god damn needle in my forehead.” Byleth sighed and closed her eyes as Dimitri continued the stitches. “I refuse to use my gun unless I have to. I can hold my own and have been trained on how to handle knife attacks.” Byleth made a face. Dimitri choked on his spit at how stupidly adorable it was. “Ashe got to the taser before I could; the girl could hold her own. It’s good training for my rookie.”

Dimitri couldn’t argue with that. He had known Ashe from college, where they had taken one chemistry class before he discovered that medicine wasn’t for him and policing was a better option. It fit him better. He was glad that Ashe was under the training of Byleth; they could keep each other safe while learning from one another. It was a good balance.

“How are you fairing? I know your first loss of life isn’t easy.” Dimitri knew she was speaking from experience.

The blonde sighed as he finished her stitches and continued to clean her wound. He was lingering and trying not to focus on the fact that she smelled of vanilla and jasmine. Once he was done dressing the wound, he slumped in the seat next to her in the bay of the ambulance.

“This isn’t my first loss.”

Not by any means. His father and stepmother were dead due to a horrific car accident that he had managed to survive but that wasn’t what she was talking about.

“I lost a lot of people when I was an EMT. It happens. This was my first black tag.”

It was part of the four levels of triage in a mass casualty incident. A green tag meant they were good and didn’t need medical attention. If they did, it was minor. Yellow was medical attention necessary but not life threatening. Red was life threatening. Black was dead on arrival or no chance of survival. Dimitri had heard stories of medics who had marked people as black despite the fact that they appeared to be so healthy because the internal damage was too great. That was what had happened when he stumbled onto the scene of the stabbing; the blood loss was too great.

The booklet felt heavy again. He kept the booklet in his back pocket and it was full of the names of people he had lost. It was his reminder of why he had to do what he did. There were twelve names on it, soon to be thirteen. Even though the circumstances were slightly different (they did arrive to what was basically a dead on arrival), he would put the mans name down. That was his punishment.

Byleth grabbed his forearm and squeezed it. He turned her attention to her and she was giving him the gentlest smile that he was sure he was going to help. Dimitri was hopeless. He barely knew her and she continued to occupy his thoughts.

“I’ll be at the station after my shift ends for your guys dinner. It’s a tradition my father decided to do a few years back after a loss.”

Annette had mentioned this to him before. It was one of her favourite family meals, considering how it tended to be rich full of desserts (she said it helped her cope with the pain. He believed her). As terrible as the situation was, he was looking forward to it. It meant that he got to spend more time with Byleth.

Someone called out Dimitri’s name in the distance and he stood at attention, startling Byleth. He cleared his throat as he went back to assessing her wound as Mercedes and Sylvain materialized next to them.

“Go to the doctors in two weeks to get the stitches removed.” He wanted to offer that he could do it for her but knew it would be unprofessional. From the corner of his eye, he could see Sylvain smirking at him and Mercedes looking concerned for the woman. Dimitri properly disposed of his bloody gloves and held out his hand to help her up. “If you feel lightheaded, dizzy, nausea, etc., you go to the emergency room and get assessed for a concussion. Clean the w-”

“Sothis, Dimitri, my mom and brother are doctors. I know all of this.”

Byleth accepted his hand and he tried not to blush at their close contact. Dimitri hadn’t mentioned his name to her and she knew it. Her hands were so warm. Where they always this warm? It felt amazing. He never wanted to let go. Once she stood up, he regrettably released his grip.

“Be nice to the puppy, he’s still learning!” Sylvain teased as he wrapped an arm around Dimitri’s shoulder. “I’m going to whisk him away for some bro talk. We will see your lovely face in a few hours!”

Byleth flipped him off and Sylvain laughed. He led Dimitri away, closer to the fire truck, and let go of his grasp.

“You gonna tap that?”

Dimitri made a face which only caused Sylvain to laugh more. Half of the things his redheaded friend did was to get a reaction out of them. He knew this and it still left him uncomfortable. He didn’t want to degrade Byleth like that for the sakes of appeasing Sylvain’s lust.

“Why must you be so crass?”

“The blush on your cheeks is adorable!” Dimitri scowled and adverted his gaze. “She’s a good one. I think you two would do well. Want me to get her number for you?”

Sylvain was trying to distract him. It was working.

“I can do it myself.”

“No you can’t! That’s why you need me!”

Sylvain grabbed Dimitri’s medical bag and threw it into the fire truck. The redhead didn’t have the address the elephant in the room. Dimitri knew the death bothered him by the small frown he wore on his face despite the fact he was desperately trying to hide it behind a smile. It was reassuring to know that death on the job didn’t get easier to accept. It made him feel more human.

“Seriously, I can get those digits and a nude or two if you want to see one.”

Dimitri grabbed a gaze roll and chucked it at his head.

* * *

Dedue’s shop was a place of comfort.

Dimitri was fighting the urge to go to the hospital and see what happened to the last patient of his shift. He was off duty but still wearing his undershirt that read “Fhirdiad FIRE/EMS” on it and would stick out like a sore thumb. Once the patient was delivered to the hospital, he was done. There was no point in checking on them.

Expect this patient had been a little girl that had been beaten so badly the police were called and the mother was arrested on the spot. Byleth had done the honour of taking the abuser to jail. Had she followed up at the hospital? Did she know what was going to happen to the kid? Dimitri needed to know more.

He sighed and inhaled the scent of the tulips and looked around. His heart skipped a beat when he saw a familiar tuff of green hair, expect it was cascading off her shoulders and she was out of uniform. Dimitri did a double take to make sure it was the woman of his thoughts.

“Byleth? Is that you?”

She turned around and Dimitri’s heart twitched. Byleth looked exhausted and angry. She was holding a small bouquet of daises and sunflowers in her hands. Who were the flowers for? Dimitri felt unreasonably jealous. No, that didn’t matter. What mattered was that she was here and she looked just as beautiful out of her uniform as she did in it.

“Dimitri? Do you come here often?” Byleth asked as she stepped closer to him.

“Yeah, I’ve been best friends with the owner for years. I come here to help clear my mind sometimes.” He was able to get distracted by the smells and could help Dedue if needed. It worked well. Dimitri fiddled with the tulip in his hand and tried to keep Byleth’s gaze.

She smiled but it was forced. Dimitri knew the look well; he wore it often. “Mercedes mentioned this place to me awhile back for Mother’s Day. I figured it would be a good spot to get Eloise some flowers to cheer her up.”

Dimitri froze. Eloise was the name of the little girl he had helped hours prior. So that meant she was still alive and in the hospital, which was a promising sign, but that was all he knew. What were the doctors saying? Would she survive the night? The need to know was eating at him slowly. He took a few steps closer to Byleth.

“IS she going to be okay?” His voice was quiet. The shop only contained the two of them (and Dedue, but he was polite enough to turn his head the other way and pretend he didn’t know) but it was confidential information.

“The doctors expect a full recovery. Mentally is a different story.” She looked sad. Dimitri wanted to hold her in his arms, run his hands through her hair and tell it was going to be okay. “She’s a tough kid, though. I think she’ll be okay after a lot of therapy. I’m going back there in a bit since she’s calmer around me at the moment until her grandmother can come.”

Dimitri let out a sigh of relief. He knew the trauma the child was going through. He only hoped that she was resilient and mentally stronger than he was. He put the tulip down and dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out his notebook and a pen. He wrote his number down after tearing off a piece of paper and handed it to her. Sylvain would be so proud of him.

“Please tell me how she’s doing after.” He scratched the back of his head, trying not to make the situation awkward. “And I’d like to know how you’re doing, if that’s okay. I’m always here if you need to talk.”

Her face remained stoic but slowly broke out into a smile. Dimitri was sure he was going to die on the spot; her smile was beautiful.

“I’ll text you later tonight then.”

“I look forward to it.”

* * *

**B:** Hi Dimitri, it’s Byleth. Has anyone told you that you have beautiful handwriting?

 **D:** I’ve heard that before. How is she doing? How are you doing?

 **B:** She’s doing great. Grandma is with her now and I just left. She’ll go into grandma’s care so no need for child services placement. The evidence is enough for a long time in jail. And I’m doing … okay.

 **D:** I’m glad to hear that. And okay? Just okay?

 **B:** I’ve seen a lot of nasty shit in my time. This is just one of those instances. I take some time to process it and then go back to my job. I’m here to help and I take pride in that. As horrific as the situation was, I know we saved her life and she’ll be safe for now. That’s all I can ask.

 **B:** I hate texting. Can I call you?

Dimitri didn’t give her the chance. With a smile, he called her. The phone conversation lasted well into the night and when he hung up and went to bed, he knew he was in trouble.

* * *

“So when are you going to tell the Captain that you want to date Byleth?”

Dimitri jumped at Mercedes words, almost spilling his tea down his shirt. Cursing under his breath, he grabbed a napkin and wiped up the mess, doing his best to avoid eye contact with his trainer.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Mercedes snickered. Her statement was kind, unlike the crude ones that Sylvain made. Dimitri had gotten good at brushing off his friends comment about him and Byleth. It was different coming from Mercedes. Was he that obvious? ( _Yes)_. She sat down on the table across from him.

“It’s okay, Dimitri. I know you guys have been talking consistently for the past few weeks and I know you make a point to check in on her after we respond to a call with her.”

Ever since they had talked about Eloise, their communication had been nonstop. The only breaks they had when they were sleeping or at work. Dimitri had gotten more to know about Byleth than he ever thought he would. He knew things like her favourite colour (green), favourite pastime (fishing, even if all the lakes sucked in Fhirdiad), favourite flower (tiger lily), and her connections with the fire station. Every time they talked, he learned more about her and he was an addict who craved more. Byleth was quickly becoming one of his best friends and someone he cared for deeply.

They checked in on each other after calls, especially if they were grisly in nature. Most of the time it was a quick hello that was followed up by an up and down glance to make sure they weren’t seriously injured. Dimitri had gotten to know her micro expressions and she is, even though he mostly wore his heart on his sleeve. Dimitri sighed and took a sip of his tea.

“I care for her greatly. I guess I do have a crush.” It sounded so childish. Mercedes didn’t say anything and let him continue. “I respect our Captain, and her, too much for that though.” He wasn’t sure if she was romantically interested in him. Dimitri knew he didn’t have the confidence to go out on a whim like that.

“Maybe you should ask her out on a date.” Her words were carefully chosen. “Cap doesn’t have a say in her personal life and he cannot, and will not, use it against you in a professional manner.” Dimitri believed that but it still made him uncomfortable. Mercedes gave him a kind smile. “I think you’d like the answer if you asked.”

Did that mean she would say yes if he asked her out on a date? Byleth and Mercedes were close. She would know how Byleth felt about him. With his heart pounding in his chest, he finished his tea and looked at his Mercedes.

“We’re hanging out tomorrow. I’ll ask her then.”

* * *

Everything hurt.

“ _Dammit_ , Dimitri, can you hear me?”

He could hear her, even if it was muffled, but he couldn’t respond. The blonde couldn’t open his eyes. H e could smell smoldering metal, blood and gas. Why couldn’t he move? Why couldn’t he open his eyes? Dimitri’s breathing was laboured and his chest hurt. It didn’t hurt as much as the left side of his face and why the _hell_ couldn’t he open his eyes?

“Dimitri!”

Dimitri groaned. It was the only response he could give. The screams were getting louder and he was slipping in and out of consciousness. What had happened? He couldn’t remember. He felt a warm finger at the base of his throat, searching for a pulse. If he could focus on the medical side of it, maybe he could come out of his haze.

“Shit, Merci, he’s bleeding so bad. I can’t tell if the glass is in his eyes or not.”

Byleth.

It was Byleth who was speaking to him and she sounded close to tears. She had mentioned something about glass and his eye. Is that why he couldn’t force his eyes open? Dimitri tried again, with no luck, and cried out in agony. Keeping his eyes shut meant less pain. It also meant his head wouldn’t throb. He felt weak.

“I’ve got a pulse but it’s faint. I think there’s glass in his eye too and I can’t see if he’s pinned. What do you see on that side?”

“A lot of bruising from the seatbelt. I don’t see anything to indicate that he’s pinned; we can cut the seatbelt. There’s shattered glass everywhere. I think he hit his head on the door based off the trajectory of the blood.”

Memories were starting to come back to him. Someone had hit his car from the passenger side and his head hit the glass at the impact. He had been driving home from work to take a shower and meet up with Byleth a couple of hours later. Dimitri flexed his hand, cried out more pain, and tried to reach towards the sound of Byleth’s voice.

“Hey, hey, probie, I’m right here.” Byleth sounded frightened and Dimitri wanted to open his eyes and tell her that he was okay. Instead he wriggled his fingers, she took his hands into hers and he squeezed. Even that was painful. He let out another groan. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? I’m right here. I’m going to be with you all the way to the hospital.”

“Stop moving, Dimitri. I don’t know if you have spinal damage. You know better.” Mercedes was the other voice and she was right, he did. Paramedics made the worst patients. “Squeeze Byleth’s hand if you understand me.”

Mercedes continued to shout orders at the people around her and he did as he was told. His head was throbbing too much to do anything else anyways.

“He heard you. It’s been a minute since I’ve done a seated extraction. Guide me through it.”

Dimitri wanted to laugh. Of course Byleth would know more than the average officer. He coughed and felt wetness in the corner of his mouth. It tasted of copper and he knew it was blood.

“ _Shit.”_

It was the last thing he heard before he faded into darkness.

* * *

The hospital room was too bright.

Dimitri groaned as he sat up in his bed. He had been awake for the better part of an hour and admitted defeat and let the doctor talk to him about twenty minutes ago, where he learned the extent of his injuries from the car crash. He had extensive damage and scarring to his left eye. It didn’t need to removed but due to the injury from the glass, he would be blind. There was some internal damage from the impact of the crash and the seatbelt, a bunch of cuts that would develop into scars from jagged pieces of glass, and a broken right wrist. The injures were extensive but he was lucky to be alive.

Dimitri didn’t feel lucky. He felt miserable.

“Those bastards. I told them to call me when you were awake.”

Dimitri turned his head slowly (he was still getting used to the lack of vision and could feel the start of a migraine) and saw Byleth settling down in the chair next to him. She looked frazzled and he couldn’t blame her. He pulled the blanket and wrapped it up around his chest for a false sense of security.

“It’s only been about twenty minutes.” It was a lie and his voice was hoarse from the lack of use. Dimitri leaned back against the pillow and closed his eye, trying not to wince at the harsh lights. Before he could ask, the lights flickered off and he opened his eye to look at her. “Thank you.”

She nodded and handed him half of her blueberry scone. “I did some research when they told us you lost your eye and read that you’re likely to experience nasty headaches while you’re adjusting from the use of two eyes to one. These lights give me a headache, I can’t imagine what they’re doing for you.”

Dimitri took the scone and stared at it. He wasn’t hungry but knew he needed to eat. The heart monitor beeped in the background and the I.V. line felt heavy on his arm.

“What happened? How long have I been out?”

“Just a couple of hours, about a day and a half total since the accident. An asshole ran a red light and slammed into your passenger side. They were going about 55, so 20 over the speed limit. You bashed your head into the drivers’ side door and broke it with the impact. A good chunk got into your eye.” Byleth picked at her scone and looked down at the floor. “I was around the corner when the call came in.”

Dimitri’s memory was still hazy but he remembered hearing her voice and reaching for her hand. It was a cruel twist of fate that Byleth would be one of the first officers who responded to his car accident. He tore off an edge of the scone and ate it. It tasted like nothing. Dimitri wasn’t sure what he expected; head trauma wouldn’t have changed his lack of taste overnight.

Byleth opened her mouth to continue the stop before clamping it shut. The blonde reached for her hand on instinct. She was comfort and he desperately needed comfort. Her hands were just as warm as he remembered. The tension in his shoulders relaxed as he held onto her hand.

“Are you okay?”

“You’re the one in the hospital bed and you’re asking me if I’m okay?” Her voice was laced with strained laughter. She wiped the corner of her eyes with her free hand. “I told you I’ve seen a lot of shit in my time. I can bounce back pretty well. I have _never_ been that scared before. I thought you were going to die and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to save you.”

Dimitri was sure he was dead the moment he passed out after tasting the blood on his lips. If it hadn’t been for Byleth, he wasn’t sure he would have had the strength to fight for his lie. He would have allowed his body to succumb to his injures and been content with his death. The woman next to him changed that.

“Why did you stay? You didn’t have to.”

It was a dumb question and an even dumber statement. Dimitri knew her answer because his was the same; he wouldn’t let her die on his watch. He would go through hell and back to make sure that Byleth was living and breathing next to him. He didn’t need Byleth to spell it out for him – they were friends. That’s what friends did for each other.

Byleth let out an annoyed huff. “Do I have to spell it out for you?” When Dimitri didn’t respond and looked away, she continued. “I like you, probie. I like you a lot. More than a friend.”

 _Oh_.

The familiar blush spread across Dimitri’s cheeks and his heart rate monitor betrayed him. He turned his attention back to Byleth, who was mirroring his blush. She looked adorable and Dimitri felt his stomach do a backflip.

“Why do you always have to beat me to the punch?” His head was still throbbing but he couldn’t stop the smile that was spreading. “I was going to ask you out on a date when we hung out but then I wound up here.”

Dimitri wanted to get rid of the heart rate monitor. It was giving him away, showing the spike, and it was something that he didn’t want to explain to his doctors. He didn’t need the monitor beeping at him to tell him that his heart was pounding in his chest. He tugged on her hand and brought her closer to him. He readjusted himself and leaned in closer.

He was leaning in to kiss her but found himself off balance. His head was woozy and he was starting to feel lightheaded. With a sigh, he pulled back and rested his head against the pillow as he tried to stop the world from spinning.

“I’ll kiss you when I’m more coordinated.”

“That’s okay, Dima,” Byleth replied with a soft laugh. She leaned in and gave him a quick peck before brushing a stand of hair out of his eye. “Since I ruined your plans, how about I tell you how I was going to ask you out?”

“Does it involve Sylvain’s advice? Because mine did and I am not that clever.”

Byleth chuckled as she dug into her purse and pulled out a coin, ignoring his question, and held up in front of his good eye to help alleviate the strain. Her advice had been from Felix and Sylvain. She had been flipping a coin to make a decision about the dinner the group were going to have that night and he had made an off handed comment about how she should decide to ask out Dimitri based off the flip of the coin. Once Sylvain had heard Felix’s snide suggestion, he had run with it. It was clever and just as bad as she expected it to be. It was still the better idea than stumbling on her words trying to admit to her crush.

“If I flip heads, you and I get together, take on the world and be together forever.”

Byleth flipped the coin before she gave Dimitri a chance to respond. When it landed on the back of her hand, she covered it up. After a few seconds, she took her hand off. It was tails. Dimitri frowned. He was doing better at getting his heartbeat under control but it was spiking again with the anxiety. What was tails supposed to mean?

_This is supposed to be a positive conversation. Breathe._

“And if it’s tails?” He asked cautiously.

Byleth smiled at him and flipped the coin again.

“If it’s tails, we try again.”

**Author's Note:**

> if you want to be friends on discord hmu. i need more people to discuss my obsession over this game with tbh


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